Controversy Rocks Harvard’s Slavery Research Project as Academics Speak Out on Interference

A $100 million investigation into Harvard University’s historical ties to slavery has been marred by controversy, with researchers alleging that their work is being obstructed by the institution. The project, designed to examine the university’s involvement in slavery in Antigua, has already led to the departure or dismissal of several key researchers.

One of those researchers is Christopher Newman, an academic who spent two months working on an annotated bibliography for the 2022 Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative report. The report, which details the university’s ties to slavery across three centuries, was a major milestone in the ongoing investigation.

According to Newman, his troubles began on July 26, 2022, when he submitted his completed project to the Harvard University Archives. Just a day later, he received an email requesting a meeting with the university’s human resources department. Newman claims that campus police officers were present at the meeting, and that he was subsequently placed under investigation.

Newman is not the only researcher to have faced difficulties in their work on the slavery project. Several other academics have also spoken out about what they describe as a culture of obstruction and interference at the university. These allegations have sparked concerns about the integrity of the research and the university’s commitment to confronting its troubled history.

In a statement, Harvard University emphasized its commitment to the ongoing investigation and its desire to ensure that the research is conducted in a fair and impartial manner. However, the controversy surrounding the project has raised important questions about the university’s willingness to confront its past and its dedication to truth-telling.

The Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Initiative is a groundbreaking effort to shed light on the university’s involvement in slavery, a history that has been long suppressed. As the investigation continues, it will be essential that researchers are able to work freely and without interference, unencumbered by the constraints of bureaucratic and administrative pressures.